29 June 2011 edition
The 29 June 2011 edition of Countdown with Keith Olbermann is the eighth edition of the program to air on Current TV. No. 5 Guest commentator Ryan Grim discussed President Obama's press conference concerning the continued refusal by Republicans to compromise on corporate tax cuts and increasing taxes on the wealthy despite the willingness of Democrats to consider cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in order to meet the August 2nd debt ceiling negotiation deadline, and recommended that congressional Republicans should ask the opinions of their own Republican constituents before refusing to roll back corporate tax cuts, while John Boehner responded by issuing a statement claiming that no "bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes" will pass the House of Representatives. No. 4 Guest commentator Jonathan Turley discussed the argument that refusing to raise the debt ceiling is unconstitutional because it violates Section 4 of the 14th Amendment and theorized that Republicans could argue against it by claiming that they are not questioning the national debt but questioning how and when it will be paid, as well as confirming that he had been approached by members of Congress concerning the question of debt constitutionality. No. 3 Guest commentator Evan McMorris-Santoro discussed Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign in light of her claim at a rally that the media want to see her and Sarah Palin engage in a mud wrestling match and the fact that Bachmann is gaining conservative supporters while Palin is losing them, as well as Palin's visited to Pella, Iowa to screen the documentary The Undefeated which she denied was about her even though the film's director appeared on Fox News to promote his documentary about Sarah Palin. No. 2 In Worst Persons, Bristol Palin was awarded the bronze for promoting her book Not Afraid of Life, which sold only 1,479 copies in hardback and 18 copies in audiobook in its first week, by claiming that she knows whether her mother will run for President but refuses to tell; Glenn Beck was awarded the silver for claiming that he and his family were involved in a "hostile situation" in Bryant Park when in fact his wife merely had half-a-glass of wine accidentally spilled on her; and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joe Main were awarded the gold for covering up the fact that Massey Energy kept faked safety records for the Upper Big Branch Mine long before an explosion killed 29 miners there. No. 1 Guest commentator Christian Finnegan discussed the interruption of technological institutions by animals, including the delay of flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport because of terrapin turtles crossing runways to lay eggs and the shut down of Torness Nuclear Power Station because of jellyfish in a cooling water pool, and the fringe theory that environmentalists are to blame for implementing regulations that have allowed animals to flourish to the point that they interfere with human technology. See Also Category:June 2011 editions 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 1